Losing a couple of kg support thread

[GetYourHandOut]

I'm blaming the shite weather rather than the biscuits but I'm still in my winter phase and am at the top end of my usual weight range.

I'd like to lose a couple of kg to feel more comfortable and confident as summer (hopefully) approaches.

Does anyone want to join me for a support and accountability thread?

Thanks @RamaSita , yes think we're at a similar point!

I know I could lose weight by a very strict diet/Intermittent fasting (aka skipping meals) as I've done that in the past but I know it wouldn't be healthy or get the results I want. If I did that I wouldn't be able to train and I'd likely lose muscle weight rather than fat.

I know it's not going to have dramatic results but as long as I'm strength training I'll accept staying around the same weight, because if I'm getting stronger then I can have some hope that I'm increasing muscle/losing body fat, even if it's slow!

I've recently unearthed my kitchen scales, so I'm aiming to log this week on MFP for perspective.

For exercise I'm going to add in 50% of major exercise sessions, e.g. 500 calories out of a 1000 calorie long run. No point adding in 20 mins of yoga though 😂

I lack the patience to use it long term!
It is useful for evaluating habits though. My 24g of butter on my soldiers with this morning's boiled eggs was an eye opener. The whole breakfast was just short of 600. Which is fine for today, but best knock that one on the head on lighter days 🙈

@BogRollBOGOF weighing food does reset your idea of portion size a lot!

I am trying to keep my food strictly within my calories and macros this week, hence eating only 30g of DC's Colin the caterpillar birthday cake earlier!! We also ate dinner earlier and now I am so hungry. I usually eat quite late so I rarely go to bed hungry. Oh well, hopefully I can sleep it off!!

I'm guessing 30g of Colin doesn't go far!

Occasionally I'll wake in the night hungry (usually after rice- not enough fibre and quite quick to digest) and I quite like a Babybel to keep my digestive system quiet. Better than not getting back to sleep!

@BogRollBOGOF it's a crumb of Colin!!

My weight has settled after all the food and drink at my family party but I haven't broken my plateau yet. I do think I feel a bit tighter this morning so hopefully the scales will show progress soon.

I am adding extra cardio and steps for my last 2 week push, as well as my usual 5x week lifting. It's a lot, but it's doable for a short period so I can try to hit those last few pounds. It's hard when you are down to the last few pounds though, no room for being relaxed about it!! On my walking pad right now...

Today's breakfast was nearly a third of the calories yesterday's! It was a mushroom and spinach omlette so good protein for my muscles after a 10 mile run. And to be fair, yesterday's eggs and soliders were good fuel for a long steady run so it was the right choice for the day that was planned.

I ran over lunch time, so while it looks like a junky, snacky day, there wasn't a meal in the middle, and I needed that light fueling around the run.

The family had one of the customised supermarket pizzas brought on the way back from the DCs' activities, and like the last couple of weeks I bought a ready meal (which does have some reasonable chunks of veg in) which seems to be working better for me.

Food shopping day today, so later the fridge will be heaving with virtue again

While I was in that supermarket last night, I topped up on some frozen meats which are good for avoiding weekend fresh food crises. I generally do Lidl/ Aldi and they're not the greatest for that. I already had a load of fish in, but DH really doesn't like it. Sigh.

@BogRollBOGOF I do the same with ready meals, I keep a couple of the frozen Gym Kitchen ones in. Handy when you are short of time or need a better alternative. I usually add a load of veg or a big salad for volume.

And well done on the 10 mile run! I managed a whopping 15 minute trot on the treadmill after my gym session today and it was so slow I have literally run marathons at a faster pace (albeit 15 years ago!!) but it felt good to stretch my legs!!

What an exercisey lot you are, bravo. I walked 40 minutes at a brisk pace pushing a heavily loaded buggy yesterday and got a right sweat on.
Feel like a new woman today though, having turned a corner hormonally and now heading into the more energetic and positive phase of my cycle. Such a relief. Just had a lovely big bowl of summer berries with my lunch, in the sunshine in the garden. Delightful!

Any exercise is a good thing

I've gone back up to 63.3kg but only to be expected after a weekend in Lisbon. Don't regret it! Back on track now.

I'm expecting to be ravenous tomorrow... I've used a lot of energy today and suspect my appetite will catch up on me. I'm often not that hungry in the immediate aftermath so end up out of sync for the purposes of something like MFP that doesn't take recovery into account with the way it works day by day.

Sweet cravings seem to be calming. I did have a yoghurt to round dinner off which was fair in the circumstances.

Did a nice marinade for chicken for dinner, olive oil, herbs, soy sauce and lots of garlic then airfried. Even the DCs liked it. That's worth doing again.

Yay, finally managed to go for a walk
Done my 10,000 steps
Weight hovers around 55kg which is okay and so nice to finally have sunshine

Well done on the steps @Defrump!

I jumped on the scanner at the gym this morning, and although my weight has been pretty stubborn for a couple of weeks, my fat is down. Which makes sense because I do feel leaner.

2 weeks to go now, and I am keeping the extra cardio in and trying to trim my calories slightly. My abs are looking great, but I would like leaner thighs :-)

I hope that's given you a boost @everycowandagain 💪

My DC made cheese scones at school today and I'm the only one in the family who likes them. I may have eaten 3 as a pre dinner snack 😳

Oooh I do love a cheese scone!

I was right about being ravenous

I had a fitness class and a demanding run on my plan so went for good old stodgy beans on toast for breakfast which did the job of keeping me going. Then Mediterranean veg and humous for lunch. And pasta bolognese for the finale. I did end up using the exercise calories and assuming I've guessed the bolognese in the right magnitude, am balanced. But it was an active day on top of an active day and deficit yesterday, so I'm happy with that outcome. Bonking from being excessively restrictive is not desirable.

The only "empty" calories were the Red Bull (I need some source of cafeine to get through a heavy day), and a small dark chocolate bar to finish lunch off. The rest was all good nutrition including two very vegetable based meals.

I'd better see results next week...
Actually hormones might sabotage that. I can feel myself hitting water retention phase 🙄

@BogRollBOGOF Snap. I'm convinced I become part sponge for two weeks each month.

This week has been going relatively well so far though. As the sun has been out, I've had a bit of a hankering for ice cream, but made do with some frozen banana chunks instead. 😇

Today was quite a brutal leg day though so I'm expecting the scales to be up in the morning...

@SaggyOldClothDog the post leg day weight increase is so predictable yet it still annoys me every time!!

Well done everyone!
I've relaxed a little food wise because I've been really enjoying my strength training and don't want to be limiting that. Still tracking just so i can see how it affects my weight and get a better idea of what my parameters are. Today I had salmon for lunch, not had it for ages and hadn't realised how high calorie/high fat it was compared to the other protein I have! Enjoyed it but will make sure it's occasional.

I have discovered medjool dates - I follow a cyclist who uses them on long rides instead of processed carb sources like energy gels. Used them when hiking last week and they were ideal. It's now my new ingredient to add to porridge when I need a bit of a boost!

Can I join please for accountability? On the scales yesterday was my heaviest since post pregnancy. 11'6. I'm 5'7. Hoping to be 11 by Aug 4... 6 weeks away. Low carb always works for me but I'm worried because I'm also running at the moment and I'm afraid of low energy so all tips appreciated! Thanks!

Morning all,
Currently trying to gee myself up to go for a walk before it gets too hot.
I'm not going to complain about this glorious long overdue weather but I am no good walking in it later in the day.
Happy Friday everyone

Of course @CantFindMyGlasses3 you're very welcome! A few of us on here do a lot of exercise and it's tough to find the balance of being in a deficit while still having enough on board to fuel your activity. I also think some people can tolerate a lower level of carbs than others. For me I tend to do higher protein and moderate carbs, although I do take calories from carbs and fat if I want to drop my calories. And as I get lower I tend to time my carbs around my training to get max benefit. Trial and error, and not going too low too fast I think.

After an entire 2 weeks of staying about the same I finally dropped 1lb today!! I am now about 1kg away from my goal of 59.9kg, with just under 2 weeks to go. Keeping up the extra cardio in addition to my usual lifting, and keeping my calories and macros in check.

Happy Friday everyone. @Defrump it's lovely walking weather if you get out early, I hope you enjoy it.

I try to cycle carbs so more to fuel heavy exercise and fewer on lighter days.

Although I'm entering hormonal carb fest mode and my body isn't taking no for an answer.

Currently baking a small batch of little simple cakes to see if that shuts my brain up. At least they're decent ingredients and the damage is limited.
I did try suggesting salmon and salad or stirfry but my subconcious brain laughed back at my stupidity

That was a dangerous discovery. They were quicker to make and cook in the air fryer than it would be to walk down the shop!
No palm oil and soya though